1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a display apparatus and method in a mobile terminal, and in particular, to a display control apparatus and method in a mobile terminal capable of outputting video data to an external display device in order for a user to enjoy concurrent service.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with the development of digital broadcasting technology and mobile telecommunication technology in recent years, the public has taken great interest in digital broadcasting services that enable users to watch digital broadcasts on mobile terminals, even when the user is in motion. Due to the great interest in the digital broadcasting services, the focus of the development has been moving from a passive broadcasting watching scheme that users watch merely TV programs without taking any action to an active broadcasting management scheme that allows users to see a variety of information related to goods displayed on a TV program currently being broadcast. For example, the active broadcasting management scheme allows a user to purchase goods displayed on a TV program while watching the TV program.
Also, a concern is being raised as to Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) services through wireless mobile terminals. The current DMB services make connections available anywhere and anytime with the mobile terminals, but they are disadvantageous in that the small screen size of the mobile terminals do not allow a number of people to simultaneously watch a TV program displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal. Thus, the trend is for developing the mobile terminal to have a function to output video signals to external display units, such as a television, a projector and the like, having a screen size larger than that of the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal having TV-out function can output video data including moving pictures and broadcasting data, currently being displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal, to an external display device. Therefore, users are able to simultaneously watch TV programs through the larger screen.
Hereinafter, an example of a mobile terminal connected with a television will be provided with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional mobile terminal having TV-out function, connected with a television. As shown in FIG. 1, a mobile terminal 10 is connected with a television 30, which is a type of external display device, through a TV-out cable 20. As shown in FIG. 1, a broadcast including a TV program is displayed on the screen of the television 30 rather than being displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal 10. Generally, as in the screen display control scheme of the mobile terminal 10, the television 30 displays broadcasts on the screen under the same display scheme. Thus, when events including incoming call and message reception occur while watching TV programs, an event message box indicated by reference numeral 40 in FIG. 1 is displayed on the screen of the television 30. However, as shown in FIG. 1, the event message box 40 covers some portion of the screen on which broadcast is being currently displayed. More specifically, when a number of people are watching a TV program through the television 30, viewers may feel inconvenienced by the unnecessary information displayed on the screen.
In addition, personal information of the mobile terminal user is undesirably publicly displayed, creating a potential infringement on the user's privacy. Further, when a user is checking information related to goods desired by the user while viewing a home shopping channel, i.e., when the user clicks on the user-desired goods, personal information required by a purchase may be unintentionally disclosed to the public.
As described above, a display control scheme of an external display device in a conventional mobile terminal has a problem in that some portion of the displayed TV screen will be obscured by an event message box 40 or personal information may be undesirably disclosed to the public. Thus, the conventional display control scheme is not suitable for processing the concurrent service in an external display device and in a mobile terminal. Such a conventional mobile terminal cannot offer a user who is watching broadcasts through the external display device other kinds of services because in a conventional mobile terminal, only one screen for the service currently being displayed can be provided to an external display device.